The University of Georgia established The University of Georgia Press in 1938. It was given three missions: to publish works of scholarship, to publish books of interest and utility to the citizens of the state and region, and to publish creative and intellectual works that contribute to the culture of our time. The Press was housed in the old Chancellor’s House, which stood where the Main Library now stands on North Campus. Mimeograph machines located in the basement ran off materials needed by many departments on campus. Ralph Stephens and Frazier Moore were the early editors and managers. Sometime during the 1940s the University split the press into two sections: The University Press and The University Printing Department. The Press continued its publishing functions, while the Printing Department began to expand to handle more of the University’s printing needs.

Later in the 1940s, the Printing Department was placed under the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism. It was to serve as a lab for the makeup and typography classes. The department also answered to J. D. Bolton, controller of the University, as it was considered an auxiliary operation and had to generate enough income to pay its operating expenses. In 1949, when plans were drawn for the Ilah Dunlap Little Memorial Library, the decision was made to place it where the Chancellor’s House stood. This meant the Press and Printing Department would have to be moved.

The University Press was moved to the Lustrat House on North Campus, and a temporary, 5,000-square-foot, two- story concrete block building was built for the Printing Department. It stood where the parking deck now stands on Jackson Street. The building was heated by a potbelly stove on each floor. It had a flat roof with no insulation, so the temperature would be 90 to 95 degrees in the summer and quite cold in the winter. Plans had already been drawn for a new Printing Building to be built behind the Commerce-Journalism building. (The Journalism School occupied one half of this building at that time.) John Peters from Virginia was hired to be the new head of the department in 1950.

When Peters resigned in 1952, John E. Drewry, Dean of the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism, started a search for his replacement. In July 1952, Rowland F. Kraps was offered the position as Head of the Printing Department and Assistant Professor of Journalism; he would teach the makeup and typography course each quarter as well as manage the plant. Mr. Kraps was a trained journeyman printer who had also majored in journalism at the University of Kentucky. While a student, he had worked part time at the University of Kentucky’s Printing Department, which was three times the size of Georgia’s. Kraps reported for duty the middle of September 1952. The Printing Department had at that time a secretary, two people in the camera-plate section, two pressmen, one linotype operator, and one bindery person. Otis Jones, one of the pressmen, was named foreman. Several years later, he was promoted to assistant manager, a position he held until his retirement in 1984.

Dean Drewry stressed to Kraps that the first order of business was to improve the quality of work and give better service to the University. Another mandate was to have the plant pay its own way. Some camera work was farmed out to improve the quality of pictures in publications. Kraps brought in some temporary people from outside to help with training and improve quality of work, and by the end of the year both print quality and service had dramatically improved and soon departments were sending in more work.

The plant began to meet all expenses the next year and to accumulate a surplus. This was used to insulate the ceiling of the top floor, to purchase two large gas heaters, and to install an elevator lift so that materials could move from floor to floor. As the demand for multicolor work increased, it became imperative to lower the humidity in the building so as to improve registration on multiple passes through the press, and the building was air conditioned, a move which improved the quality of work and increased production. At the same time, the plant was slowly replacing some of its antiquated equipment. Along with a new paper cutter, folder, stapler, camera, light table, and presses came an increase in plant personnel. The department soon outgrew its building.

When the science center was built and the Chemistry Department moved from Terrell Hall, Kraps was asked to survey the basement of that building to see if the plant could be moved there. When it was determined that the space was not adequate, it was decided to add 2,400 square feet to the end of the building, and Printing moved to Terrell Hall when construction was completed in 1961. This new area was a boon for the Printing Department as it allowed for an increase in its volume of work for the University. The building had a loading dock, facilitating the delivery of paper. It also accommodated two new 36-inch presses, a larger folder, and an automatic signature collator/stitcher with three knife trimmers. This updated equipment enabled the department to provide higher-than-ever quality of work and service and thus to experience even faster growth. The department met all of its expenses and accumulated a surplus as directed by the University.

During this time, many commercial printing operations were switching from the Linotype, which set type in lead, to phototypesetting, and Kraps was directed to research this process and make recommendations about moving in this direction. After visiting several printing facilities and talking to people in the field, he elected to purchase the Mergenthaler VIP system. Unfortunately, the transition to phototypesetting was both quite costly and painfully slow.

During the 1970s, there was talk about moving all service agencies off north campus. Kraps was directed to visit other state universities to develop ideas for a new building. When the area on Green Street, where the Printing building currently stands, was selected, its terrain ruled out a one-story building, and the architect worked closely with Kraps and his employees to come up with a good layout for a two-story structure. The Printing Department closed down its operation in Terrell Hall on a Thursday and Friday in August 1977 to move to the new building, opening for business in its brand new quarters the next Monday morning. At the time of the move, a new Miller 25” x 38” two-color perfecting press was installed. The fine new building and fine new press helped increase production of the department.

Several years after the move to the new building came some significant personnel changes as long-term employees began to retire, beginning with Otis Jones, the assistant manager, in 1984. When Rowland Kraps decided to retire in 1986, Richard Lane was named manager and department head. Ron LaVangie became the assistant manager a couple of years later. Retirements also led to changes in the supervision of all four production areas — composition, photo layout, press, and bindery — within a matter of four or five years.

The late 1980s brought major changes to the printing industry. The industry moved away from proprietary phototypesetting and photo layout to the PostScript world of desktop publishing and computer-aided design. By the early 1990s, University Printing obtained its first four-color press and had established a modern electronic prepress department. With the advent of desktop publishing came a significant reduction in prepress staff. Today, 4 people do the work it used to take 10 to produce. These sophisticated machines and the skills of the personnel who use them have enabled University Printing to produce the complex color printing jobs that customers are demanding and have come to expect.

George Smith became department head after Lane retired, and Jeff Allen became assistant manager when LaVangie retired, both in 2000. In keeping with modernizations in the industry, Smith and Allen worked towards making further upgrades to the Prepress Department with the introduction of digital color proofing and a direct-computer-to-plate system. Smith retired in early 2006 before these new systems came online and has been replaced by Max Harrell.